Through Smoke and Flames
by AuraofOblivion
Summary: Takes place after DDD. Sora has been betrayed and left to wonder the darkness as a wondering soul. Every inch of him that has ever existed is slipping away, that is until he comes across a whispering echo offering so much more. With new powers acquired, Sora sets out on a journey of self-discovery while conquering the darkness to give way for light. AquaxSoraxLarxene
1. A Touch of Death

**Hello all and welcome to my second fanfic and I have to give credit where credit is due. This is all thanks to Jameis for the concept and story of this fan fic and I will probably be working on it as a side project while I focus on Dual Destinies. This is a X-Over between Kingdom Hearts and Ghost Rider, though it hardly has any Ghost Rider characters except a few of the villains being the actual villains of the story and if you count him as a character, Ghost Rider himself.**

**Of course this means our friendly Sora will be turning into the flaming skull man himself. Who knows... since this is a Marvel universe we may even have cameos appear from other characters but those are undecided as of yet so all I can say is keep a look out.**

**Also for clarification this is near the ending of Dream Drop Distance in which *Spoilers if you haven't played it but you should have by now* Sora falls to darkness after beating Xemnas. Of course like all good stories there is a twist to this, so we'll see how this turns out together.**

* * *

**Chapter I**

**A Touch of Death**

"_Three elements combine to create a life; a heart, a soul, and a body._

_But what of the soul and body left behind when the heart is lost?_

_When the soul leaves the body, its vessel, life gives way to death"_

-Secret Ansem Report No. 4-

Sora felt a familiar sensation swoop over him as he fell. It was the feeling of darkness crawling onto his skin and attaching itself layer by layer until he could not see the light. It had been similar to his experience a long time ago in which he had sacrificed himself to save Kairi's heart. As he drowned in the blackness, he smiled. Whatever it was that was grabbing onto him, refusing to let go, it was a far cry from the hurt he had just endured. The worst part had been that it had been but a preview of what he would no doubt face. The images of Terra, Aqua, Xion, Namine, Riku and Kairi still resided in his mind, though he could feel them fading slightly. The warmth of this darkness was comforting, the thoughts of his friends residing and the pain along with them.

No! He couldn't abandon his friends now. The bond they shared meant everything to him and after telling Xemnas that his friends were his power, he wasn't so willing to back down and let the darkness take him. But what could he do in his current situation? Kairi wasn't there to save him this time. But Riku… Riku was! That's right! Riku would be there to save him. The two had been through so much together that it was unbelievable to think that something like the darkness could easily separate them.

So all he had to do now was wait. That was all he could do. He wondered how long he had been in this purgatory like state. He bordering between the light and dark, between life and death. Did time even matter in a realm such as this? He could barely even remember how he had gotten here. He quickly thought back to how he had gotten into this sea of nothingness in the first place. He didn't even need to do it quickly for he had all the time in the world now.

_Flashback_

"_You… again." Sora said weakly as the man he recognised from earlier reappeared from the darkness. He tried to get up but he couldn't move, he was trapped to the floor by the darkness that was slowly covering and devouring him._

"_You just make it too easy. I know you think you've won, but you lost the moment you dived this far in. You're in the deepest pit of slumber, and you've worn yourself down to nothing. There's no returning to the world above." The unknown man heralded. His golden eyes glowed bright with amusement. He was this close to obtaining new vessel. Originally it had not been this boy that he had intended to capture, what with the other one a more potential candidate for the darkness, but he had been left with no other choice when he had learned of the other one's immunity for the darkness. _

"_What do you mean?" Sora asked, his eyes barely being able to look up into the man's face._

_He smirked in response, "We told you. It was not the Sleeping Keyholes that guided you. They are not the reason you are here. You've been on a path, one we laid out for you. That sigil on your chest is the proof." He pointed towards Sora's chest, or more accurately the crossing straps on his outfit._

"_What?" It took some effort for Sora to look downwards at his chest where the straps intersected. He was completely confused at the moment and the darkness didn't help in making anything clearer._

"_See? That sigil, the X, it tells us where you are at all times." The man guided his hand back and forth making an X in the air before continuing, "You had wondered aloud before—why we kept showing up where you were. It's because we need you, Sora. Or, to be more precise, we need what will be left of you—the thirteenth dark vessel." _

_Sora stuttered, the words barely came out his mouth, "Why…I…" He didn't understand. How could everything have been timed so perfectly without him knowing? He even suspected that Yen Sid and Mickey had not realised this otherwise they probably would have intervened by now. It had somehow gone exactly as this man had planned, whoever he was and Sora had a feeling he knew who._

"_Why was it assumed you could come here today? Because I followed my destined path, and I'm here looking at you right now. You can move through time, but time itself is immovable." The answer wasn't exactly what Sora wanted to hear, it made even less sense in fact. Destined path? Moving through time? His vision started to blur and he instinctively wiped at his eyes as if there was something there. His blurry vision wasn't going away and he was starting to feel lightheaded. He wanted to keep his head rested on the ground and fall into a sleep, hopefully one that would last for a long time without any intrusions. _

"_Today, all of my selves throughout time were meant to gather here, and to welcome you, Sora, as our thirteenth member," He knelt down next to Sora's blackening state, "These facts cannot be changed." _

_Sora clenched up all of a sudden as he felt something close to an arm wrapping around his wrists and crawling its way up to his arms. It touched against his skin offering a cool but deceptive embrace, it had found an owner and it was not willing to part with it._

"_What's…gonna happen…" _

"_I have now told you all that I know. We are all here, and what the future holds in store is beyond my sight. I will return to my own time, and grow into the man who becomes all these others." Xehanort watched as the darkness covered the young boy, "While I know this future now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still, my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world." _

_Sora turned his head slowly to the side and muttered out one word weakly, "Riku…" His eyesight was fading and fast._

"_Your heart will sleep forever in the folds of darkness. And your body will be another vessel for me. So light gives way to darkness. Good night, Sora." His hand extended out and reached for Sora just as his vision went completely blank. _

_End Flashback_

Already he was panicking. Was this what the darkness did to you? Drive you insane? It felt as if he had not seen the light in a century or so. He had to get out here quickly… and where was his body? Granted it was weird question considering he couldn't see or feel anything but to him it was of the utmost importance for some strange reason. He needed his body to get out of here. He couldn't become one of Xehanort's pawns, a vessel to be used against his own friends.

He thought about all of his friends who he had depended on through his journeys. Donald and Goofy had been one of the first people he had met back in Traverse Town and they had shown him the amazing Gummi Ship with its infinite potential to travel across the skies to see the other world, he would never be seeing either of them or the good old ship again. Then there was Riku and Kairi, his two best friends. What would happen to them? He hoped they would be strong enough to take on Xehanort without him. He had fond memories of the time they had sat down together in the secret cave back at the islands drawing what came to mind, and coincidently, they ended up drawing each other. Riku, who was his best buddy and a person who had helped him through thick and thin even when he was not really there.

_Riku… where are you? _He started to call out his friend's name but no answer came. And then…

_**Is that all you can do? Depend on your friends? If so then that line of thinking is quite outdated by now.**_The voice was like a whisper, echoing inside Sora's head and bouncing around his head. He shook his head and squinted his eyes shut. Now he was hearing things, another sign of his sanity falling out of the window.

_**Oh I can assure you that you are not hearing things. Now full well that you are not alone and I am always watching. **_

"Well that isn't creepy in the slightest," Sora responded sarcastically before raising a brow, "So I suppose you're going to be keeping me company while I'm here."

_**Somewhat,**_the whisper responded after a while, _**I have all the time in the world really. And where your 'friends' have abandoned you, I will not.**_

"You're that kind of guy huh? My friends have not abandoned me, they would never do such a thing. They've stood by my side for as long as I-"

Sora was cut off by the whisper, _**Of course, I heard your riveting speech when you were talking to Xemnas about two days ago. Xehanort isn't the only one who can keep you under the radar as it were.**_

"Wait, two days ago? That's ridiculous, I haven't been here for two days—" He paused, how could he be sure. All he had for now was the whispering echo's word to go on but if what it had said was true then had this voice at some point visited the world of light and if so, did it know a way out?

_**I know all that there is to know Sora, you have power… you have potential, all you have to do is reach out and use it. The only one holding yourself back at this point is you.**_

"Are you saying that I'm the reason I'm stuck in here?" Sora could not open his eyes. He refused to, just because once he opened them he was afraid of seeing something that his brain would not agree with.

_**No, you tried your best with what you could do at the time. But you could do so much more if only you tapped into your full potential. **_

"And… what would this full potential be? The power of darkness? You can forget it, I'm not interested," Sora's body floated downwards into the deep abyss as he spoke, "I'll find my own way out if you won't help."

_**Find your own way out… considering what you were doing before, I don't think you'll be able to tell your head from your toes at this point.**_

Sora said crossly, "What does that mean? If you're supposed to be helping me out you're not doing a very good job at it. So I guess you can start by telling me where I am right now."

* * *

Kairi parted her lips to speak but found that she simply couldn't. It was unbelievable that they were possibly thinking about this let alone that she had even heard it come out of their mouths.

"Me? A Keyblade wielder? Well that's great and all but aren't we forgetting someone?" Otherwise gathered in the room was Yen Sid in his chair and stroking his beard calmly while the short Mouse King Mickey stood next to him along with Donald and Goofy. Beside her and clearly disappointed in himself was Riku who had yet to talk to her about Sora. In fact, he had chosen to mention very little about the events that had transpired two days ago in the World That Never Was. Finally in the room unless the moving mops counted, was Lea who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms folded. Everyone except Kairi who had not been with them at the time had discovered that he had gained the ability to use the Keyblade and with it, he planned to save Roxas and someone else… someone he couldn't remember but it was something nonetheless that was constantly nagging him.

"Make no mistake Kairi, we do not forget all that he has done for us. But as it stands we do not have the capability to try and take on Xehanort again. I see from the look on Riku's face that he has barely said a word to you about what happened." Yen Sid's eyes widened and he looked over to Mickey to explain the rest.

"Well ya see we tried to rescue him, we really did. But something unexpected happened at the last second and I'm not quite sure what it was. Xehanort somehow found a way to unstop my stopza spell and then he went on to challenge Riku. And this is where it gets weird. Riku seemed to have the upper hand and then some sort of extraordinary thing happened which changed the tide of the battle."

"Extraordinary thing? Sounds like you're making excuses." Kairi said angrily.

"Kairi, please listen to us for a second will ya? You're not thinking straight and it's understandable since we were much like you when it happened and we still kinda are. But I swear to you that something strange happened in that fight, some alien kind of force intervened which allowed Xehanort to gain the upper hand in that fight and well, we had no choice but to escape. We're thankful that Axel, Donald and Goofy arrived when they did or both of us would be toast."

"It's Lea!" Lea yelled in frustration before he regained his composure and coolness, "And I can vouch for him. Something didn't seem right there, considering the old windbag Xehanort himself seemed surprised at the intrusion. Now that's something he didn't expect."

Kairi wrinkled her mouth, "You changed your name?"

"No, I've always been… Look I'm not a Nobody anymore alright? Let's focus on what's going to happen next." Lea held his hand out and summoned his new Keyblade, the bright orange and red body sent Kairi into awe.

But she didn't have time to admire, "It doesn't matter if it was some strange force or the tooth fairy, we need to go back and save Sora. Riku, you agree with me don't you? Riku?" However when she saw that Riku was not responding, her small frame walked up in front of him. Her hands reached as far as they could go before slapping the tall boy in the face.

"Kairi!" Mickey exclaimed wildly, Donald and Goofy joining in on his surprise. Lea just chuckled.

"Are you seriously just going to stand there while your best friend suffers? I can't believe you. Don't you remember how he never gave up on you even when you fell into the darkness. You tried to go it alone but Sora was always there to help you, you just needed to reach out to him," She stepped away from him and walked up to Yen Sid's desk slamming her hands down on it, "We all owe so much to him. We can't let him be a pawn in Xehanort's schemes."

Lea raised his hands for a second to gather everyone's attention, "I say we listen to her, if not because she's scaring me right now then because Sora also saved me once. That and my buddy Roxas is there and I'm going to save him with or without any of your help."

"And how do you plan to do that with minimal Keyblade training?" Yen Sid asked with a brow raised not just at Lea but at Kairi as well, "We only have two wielders who are adept and skilful in their use of the Keyblade but as you can see one of them seems quite lost and searching for himself at the moment. Then we have you two who are inexperienced and have little knowledge of the Keyblade and its magic. Chances are we would also be outnumbered if it came to us rescuing him."

"Well then since we can't decide, how 'bout we have a vote?" Goofy suggested clicking his fingers.

"There's nothing to vote for, we have to save him now!" Kairi clenched her fist and slid her hand away from the desk slowly.

"We should concentrate on rescuing Aqua first." Riku spoke up after a rough battle with himself, he knew little about the other Keyblade Master other than what Mickey and Yen Sid had told him and Sora.

Kairi scoffed at him, "You guys are unbelievable."

"No, don't you see Kairi? Mickey and I go into the realm of darkness and get Aqua back first, in the meantime you and Lea will be training to use the Keyblade. By the time we get back you two should be ready, or it will at least be enough to keep you safe. Donald and Yen Sid can train you both in magic and when we get back we'll help too. Then all of us, you, me, Lea, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Aqua will go after Sora. We'll save him, I promise you that." He walked up to Kairi stronger than ever and placed his hands on her shoulder.

* * *

Sora ran through quickly what the whisper had told him. It had been two days since he had fallen into this pit of darkness and according to the whisper Riku had abandoned him. That much was nonsense, Riku would never do such a thing, but still… two days… Not only this but his body was still in the possession of Xehanort, but surely his body was right here?  
"You can't expect me to believe half of this right?" Sora shook his head in disapproval.

_**You're the one who's closing his eyes. If you want to believe, all you have to do is open them. Simple, unless you can't stand to face the truth. **_

Sora opened his eyes no longer afraid, but as soon as he did he wanted to close them again. He looked at his hand, or where his hand should have been at least but he found nothing of value or anything belonging to him. He clutched at his face with is invisible hands and pulled at his cheeks looking at the corner of his eye. Nothing.

"This can't be… how am I talking or even thinking right now?" Sora asked in disbelief.

_**You're a wondering spirit… a soul with no place to call home except the darkness. Desperate to find a home to be loved, you cling to the darkness like a baby which clings to their mother. Make no mistake, you have no home now, or at least for now. But you can, I can help you get out of here assuming you're willing to do as I say. **_

Sora's mouth snapped shut for a second before saying, "You seem to think I'm so weak that I would rely on the darkness, even saying crap like my friends abandoning me and then you expect me to believe it? I don't need your help, I will get out of here on my own." With that Sora pursued his destination, he was diving not down but floating up… and he would get there. All he had to do was believe.

* * *

**Interesting to write a SoraxLarxene fanfic, probably one of the more challenging things to write considering she has a rather sadistic nature from what we've seen of her but I like a good challenge. Sora and Aqua is slightly more believable but of course it will take time to develop both relationships, especially with Kairi in the way. Don't worry Kairi, I'm sure one day you'll get your own fanfic. **

**Also should mention the almighty Lea will be travelling with Sora and the girls for some points down the line. Makes for interesting dialogue between him and Larxene and obviously Larxene's name will change since this will be her somebody though for her name, I'm still deciding between two of them. **


	2. Out of the Frying Pan

**Thank you so much to everyone who is waiting patiently for the next chapters for both this and DD. Obviously there are other things you can do in between but it's always good to know that you're willing to read. It's one of my passions and I hope it's one of yours too. **

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**Chapter II**

**Out of the Frying Pan…**

The light almost blinded him but he pursued on. This wandering lonely spirit was to no longer be mothered and caressed by the darkness, but he would return to where he truly belonged. Even if he did not have any physical hands, he felt them trembling with anticipation. Even if he did not have any feet to see, he could feel his toes curling as he soared higher and higher. Even though he had no body to touch, he could feel his heart racing at tremendous speeds. He would beat this creature and rise higher than ever before, victorious over Xehanort who wanted to claim ownership on him so badly, and this voice whose seductive manner was not enough to propel him further into the darkness.

The only thing that was troubling him was that the darkness was as thick as smoke and seeing through it would not be an easy job. It made sense though if Xehanort's words were anything to go by. He had fallen into a deep sleep, one he could not so easily awaken and recover from. It had been a miracle in itself that he had managed to come this far so what was to say that he could not go farther? For him, even if two days had gone by in the real world, time didn't seem to exist to him here.

_**How long will you continue to insist that you know best? In allowing my help you stand to benefit the most from this, not my person.**_

"You gain me falling further into the darkness. I can't trust you unless you reveal yourself to me and even then I'm not sure I would want to trust you." Sora said uncomfortably. He was angry that he had to put up with this voice for the remainder of his stay in the darkness but hopefully that would soon change.

_**I see. You're afraid of the darkness aren't you? Afraid of the power it commands: the power that would be able to protect your friends.**_

"Y'know, you are full of it. I am not afraid of the darkness. In fact I'm more afraid of this imaginary voice I'm hearing inside my head at the moment," Sora said, "Why am I even talking to you? I told you I don't need your help."

_**So you wish to see your friends suffer then. If you will heed my words for a minute, I have something of great importance to share with you. You think you're flying past the clouds and into the light when it really is not that simple. Unbeknownst to you, this darkness will drag you down even deeper and it's not because you fell into one of the deepest levels of sleep. No, but rather because of the hurt in your heart, the suffering and pain of these friends you hold dear. In a sense by not realising what is truly holding you back, the only one who has betrayed you is you yourself. **_

"So you're saying my heart wants to destroy me?" Sora gritted his teeth in annoyance. The voice didn't respond, "The least you can do is give me an answer?"

_**If you continue down this current path, yes. You will find yourself unable to let go of the nightmares of those in hurt and you will only end up pursuing a dream instead of the reality you seek. **_

Sora considered whether he had any other choice other than to listen to what this voice in his head said. If what he was told was true, then he could be leading himself further into Xehanort's trap.

_My heart's… a prison? _He remembered Xehanort's words to him back at the Cathedral. A prison. He had never really felt that way or even thought about it much after he had said it, it just seemed like more of a diversionary tactic at the time to distract him from what was truly important, the mark of mastery. But now he had all the time to ponder and he wondered if it wasn't the darkness that he was sleeping in but rather his own heart? He was trapped in a bottle as Xemnas had described it, with no label, no purpose or reason to define who he was. His body didn't even exist here, only the feeling and sensation of that feeling existed and maybe it was not even his own. Maybe this non-existent body he was touching, he thought as he felt his cheek, belonged to someone else other than him.

"I… I can't doubt myself now. Not now after I've come this far. If I were to do what you said, give into the darkness. I'd be betraying the trust of my friends after all they've done for me. Even if my heart is a prison, I'll bear that responsibility with or without your help." Sora said lowly before continuing on.

_**Then I shall assist you. I see the potential in you to awaken powers even greater than that of the darkness or light. Whether you see it or not, I will assist you in getting your body back.**_

Sora seemed relieved, the first time in a while that he was glad to have the voice with him as if it were actually making sense. Even though he had to remind himself that this voice was still only in his head no matter how much it tried to argue otherwise.

"So you mean to say you weren't offering me the power of darkness? Something more powerful?"

_**Yes, a power that would be able to protect those friends of yours. But it's not like you're interested right? You've already made up your mind after all.**_

Sora stammered for a second, "R-Right, so how exactly do I get out of here?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth a bright light surrounded him, robbing him of his vision. Though he could see only the blinding white, he felt himself be dragged down whether because of an increase in mass or maybe the voice had tricked him and he was only sinking further into the darkness of his own heart.

Then he felt his feet touch solid ground. Slowly but surely, one of his eyes opened followed shortly by the next one to take in his surroundings. He was in a white room surrounded by chairs, thirteen to be exact. Somehow, he knew exactly where he was as well, a room where nothing gathers. Thirteen seats… thirteen Xehanorts… and he had been sentenced to become one of them. He called out to the voice again but no one responded, so supposing the voice had been in his head in the first place then he was completely confused as to how he escaped the darkness.

_Doesn't matter right now, best not to stay here for much longer. _Sora walked up to the door and tried to push it and slide it open but it refused to budge. The left only one other option. Sora's Kingdom Key appeared in a flash of light, almost sparkling as if it were summoned for the first time. A beam of light shot out from its tip as he pointed the weapon at the door and a click was heard before the door slid open throwing into another long corridor. Considering he had never seen this place before on his last journey, he concluded that he was either in the basement level where Kairi had been kept kidnapped, or in a completely different area of the castle that he had yet to explore. One wrong move and it was possible that he could end up back in Xehanort's clutches. The voice had gotten him this far and now it was time for him to help himself escape, though it was absolutely essential he proceed with caution for he knew every corner he turned, a shadow would not be far behind, especially if he was being watched.

* * *

"Can't sleep huh?" Lea's voice echoed across the dark room which Kairi had decided to surround her person in. In some ways, it had taken to be her companion while she formulated her own plan in her mind.

"I can't stay here while Sora suffers like that. I keep imagining that he's somewhere, lost in the dark, calling out for help but we can't- I can't-" Kairi stuttered, her hands shaking frantically as if she had just watched blood spill upon her hands.

"It's not your fault or anyone else's alright? Sora knows that and I'm sure he's fighting. As much as I want to help him, they've got a point I admit. Going after your other friend in the realm of darkness is probably the safest bet when it comes to taking on Xehanort. That guy plans for every contingency I tell you, and that's why we need to be prepared when it comes to this. We can't let him get an advantage." Lea told her, it was painful for him to say but he knew all too well that Xehanort was anything but a simple man. Any other circumstance and he would not be nearly as hesitant but with the old man it was as if he was playing them like puppets. It was inevitable that thirteen darknesses would clash with seven lights and form a great weapon with which war could be waged. Nothing could stop that plan now.

And Kairi knew Axel was right. Of course it would be foolish to go after Sora and end up having lost another friend in the process. If not Sora, then it would be Riku this time. But she hated having to acknowledge this as exactly what it was, a game. A game by which they had to play by Xehanort's rules, a game by which they could only hope that things turned out the way they hoped.

"He already has the advantage," Kairi's eyes burned bright blue like a flame. She wouldn't let Xehanort put out the light, and for that she had no choice but to train, "So, the least we can do is minimise that advantage. We need to start training, now."

"Whoa, hold up there princess. When did you get so serious about this? Well I mean I guess you were always serious but, you seem like a completely different person now." Lea scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure out what exactly had changed in the auburn haired girl's mind to make her so . It was impossible, and besides, he had never had much luck with figuring women out anyway.

"I could say the same thing about you, considering you're the one who tried to kidnap me and all." Kairi retorted with a smile.

"Hey, what can I say? I did what I needed to do." Lea shrugged. Kairi chose neither to agree nor disagree with that and instead walked over by the moonlit window. The crescent moon towered above even Yen Sid's tower itself, or to be more precise, an artificial construction of Yen Sid's tower created by him and the three fairies with one definitive rule in mind, time was slower in the alternate tower, much slower. It was here where Kairi and Lea would train until the others got back. Though she hadn't confirmed it with Lea, the equivalent of a day here would actually be three. It was a scary thought, realising that while it seemed time was going at a normal pace to them, the ebbing flow of time had not changed for those on the outside.

"Get some sleep, we have a lot of training to do tomorrow!" Lea bid her a goodnight before walking to the door and opening it. He was about to step through the door when he paused and flicked the switch next to the door on. Immediately, the room came to life and bathed in light, "Try not to stay in complete darkness princess, that's my job." With that he was gone. Kairi expressed a sign of gratitude to the spot the red head had just been in before looking back outside.

* * *

Some thousands of miles and a few stars away, a clock struck 12 noon. At the same time a free flowing newspaper glided through the sky at a moderate speed of 30 mph and hit a woman with short blonde hair in the face as soon as she had stood up. Her face screwed up in anger before swiping at the paper and looking down upon it.

"January 12th? Wait a second, how am I here?" For a moment she stood in puzzlement considering what to do. Her fingers curled up almost instinctively as if she were wrapping each finger around invisible knives. She moved her hand to her mouth and scanned the area intently. It had been exactly where she had been before she had become a Nobody alright, Twilight Town. Finally out of her drunken stupor, she quickly tried to assimilate the information she could remember. She had been in Organization XIII, a group dedicated to collecting hearts in order to gain their own. She had been assigned to Castle Oblivion to keep watch over Namine and while it all appeared good and bubbly on the surface, behind the scenes she and Marluxia were displeased with the way their superior ran things which led to an attempt to overthrow him. Of course in order to do that they would need someone powerful enough that could be controlled, like a mindless puppet.

She smiled… almost. The Keyblade bearer had done her a great favour it seemed, she couldn't deny that because here she was somehow. She didn't know whether she was still a Nobody yet or not but the feeling inside her chest, of something recently missing having come back was certainly there and it felt… good. Still, she had been out staged by a little twerp and his friends and it wasn't exactly a good feeling for her to know that she owed someone else for returning to her original state, if she were indeed now human.

_Marluxia… or maybe, Lumaria if he's back to his original state. Maybe he's around here somewhere. _Her nose twitched and immediately she set off to hunt down her partner. She was glad that becoming a human again had not hindered her sense of intuition and tracking that she had developed over her time in the Organization, in some ways maybe it had become even stronger. But tracking wouldn't help her at this time. She was in a big town surrounded by nature, and his tendency to stick to such things would make him hard to locate here.

"I hate nature sometimes." She mouthed in disgust before pushing on.

* * *

**Shorter chapter for now but this will be leading on to more on Larxene's story as well as Sora's escape next time. And of course, let us not forget about Aqua.**


	3. Comrades in Arms

**So another chapter begins but this one focuses purely on Larxene. Might want to take it in as well because it will be the last we see of her for quite some time. **

**So to make it clear: Italics= Flashback in this chapter. Have fun!**

* * *

**Chapter III**

**Comrades in Arms**

Friendship is a weakness. Larxene had always found it best to go it alone. There was nothing to stop you, no boundaries or limits. You were not as overly attached to anyone as you would be if you made friends with a person. What even determine a friend anyway? As a person who had just gained her heart back, she could not be so sure if someone such as Marluxia, or as he was known as before, Lumaria, could even be considered a friend. Comrade was more like it. She had always loved the word comrade, something which implied bravery, clarity and above all else respect. Clarity in particular was one she had noted as she had often hated the small talk that had initiated between others, these friends who bickered about the stupidest things.

For instance, she had just passed three friends who had been on their way to the beach judging from their conversation and they had started talking, out of nowhere, about stuffed plushies they had as kids. It annoyed Larxene to no end of how off topic they seemed to go. Maybe it was just her hatred for kids or maybe it was because she was a woman of action rather than words, either way Larxene had contemplated thumping one of them over the head as they passed.

The idea of respect though, that was something she could live. There were of course different levels of respect, she had been taught as much at a young age and had especially been taught never to forget it. Her parents had been strict but she knew it was for the best. At first she had not taken much consideration of what they had said, about respect and how it got a person to high and mighty places, she had really only wanted to be a little girl who played along with others. The events which had transpired after however, precipitated her need for this respect her father had talked about.

_The young Larxene scratched underneath the table of her desk with her pencil while she pictured something much different than what was currently being displayed on the board in front of her. She found it the best way to pass time when it came to a boring class like Geography. She hardly cared much about learning of the geographical landscape of Twilight Town. What was beyond this but green hills and valleys anyway? When she had brought the question up to her parents, they had replied that no one even knew and that there wasn't likely to be much of anything past this town unless a bunch of homeless bums accounted for anything, which was her father's joke. _

_So she sat there, mentally scratching the image of green hills and replicating the action with her pencil. She had already revised the syllabus anyway and if she had missed something she could always look toward the flamboyant Lumaria for assistance. He was the so called pretty boy of the school heralded for his looks among girls in the year. Larxene saw nothing of that in him, she had never been one to care about boys or if she did, her parents hardly allowed her to spend time out. Rather he was simply just a smart individual who had a passion for flowers. She had seen some of his drawings which showed ridiculously detailed sketches of flowers. It was just the flowers that was captured though, but the surrounding itself as if he had taken the location, its smell, the sensation of touch and had dragged them onto a piece of paper. _

_But this aside, the event in particular had occurred after she had left said lesson. Now she was primarily known for her quietness and hard lined approach to studying. She also wasn't exactly popular among the girls in her year, which was no secret to her. Still, she tried to make the best with what she had, trying to make any friends she possibly could. She didn't know what made her so unappealing, so undesiring to talk to. Maybe she did want someone to look at her, be it boy or girl. It was great having Lumaria around but she didn't want to have just one friend. _

"_Friendship is short-term, what really matters are the connections you receive from them. I suppose I don't have to tell you that those that shun you will get nowhere in life." Her papa had said to her when she had asked him about making friends. The question in itself was embarrassing but the answer even more so, it was a complete contrast to what Lumaria had taught her. Friendships didn't matter? No, that's not how she felt. She would prove to her parents that she could make friends and that life was more than just studying and work. _

_Her legs had taken her to the gym, her first try outs for the volleyball team in which she hoped she would be able to meet new friends and gain this fun she had been lacking, the fun her parents had denied her. She clutched at her plushie tightly, Mimi the pig, something she had clung on tightly to since she had been seven years old. It had been a present from another girl, incidentally given a few days before an accident which had incapacitated her. She had been there when the accident had happened and it had matured her in a way that was much faster than other girls her age. None of them could say they had experienced a near death situation close up hand except for her. From that day on, she carried the plushie wherever she went going so far as to even sleep with it. It was comfort and hope in a sea of darkness for her. _

"_You here for the try outs? Hope you're ready. Volleyball is an intense sport that keeps you moving on your feet. If you haven't got precision and a sense of judgement then you aren't cut out for the job." Coach Connors said mustering the most masculine impression she could. Some of the teachers did that to her, talked down to her as if she were just a little girl, she didn't want their sympathy, she was attempting to make friends right now, couldn't they see that?_

"_I'm ready ma'am." She confirmed eyeing the team with some sadness. Just as she thought, she would, if accepted, be playing with a group of girls who absolutely hated her guts. Why Lumaria had proposed this to her in the first place she would never know, better yet why had she accepted it so casually? She supposed that it was better than being on the cheerleading team who prided themselves greatly on their good looks. She had never been about the makeup so she could hardly see herself fitting into their ecosystem. _

_The girls on the court expressed dismissal and looked on in disgust at their new arrival. Well actually, there was the exception of one Lana but she pretty much just went ahead with the majority in an effort to fit in. She had on several occasions tried to start a conversation with Larxene, but she had always been suspicious of Lana's motives. She was a tough one to figure out, and possibly dangerous if tackled the wrong way._

"_Coach, no… absolutely not. I won't accept her here. She thinks she's too good for us. Feeding of her parents while we've had to work our way to the top." Tracy, the leader of the pack, said with a tone of hostility and malice. Larxene had tried extending an olive branch with her before, but in the end all she received was a broken twig. _

"_Listen here! This is a dictatorship, but it's my dictatorship not yours. What I say goes around here. You will treat her with respect or else you'll all be receiving detentions every Friday from now until the end of term." The coach steely eyed glare caused the girls to shiver, even Larxene felt the antennae's of her head twitch as if from some sort of feedback loop. _

_Tracy had different ideas however, "You can't do that! That's unfair!" _

"_Says the schoolgirl who barely passed her exams last year. Now get back in line before I throw something at you. What's that I hear? I can't do that either? We'll see about that." Coach Connors. Amazing if not a little scary at times. But that was her in a nutshell alright. _

_The try outs began with a few simple exercises, mainly to see if Larxene could keep up, which she easily could. Even Lumaria had praised her for her quick speed and agility. This translated well in the ball exercises that were to come. She jogged along the line in a ring several times passing and catching the ball given to her by the person opposite. Finally, the last challenge came where she had to defend the area she had been given from the balls that were being thrown by the girls. What she had not expected was for the game to have quickly turned into one where it seemed as if the girls were trying to knock her out by targeting her rather than the desired area around her. Once again, Lana was excluded from this, actually seeming to miss on purpose and then saying "sorry" each time to the girls. If the coach had noticed this aggression, she had taken not measures to stop it._

_What seemed like an hour but had really only lasted half of that was now over and Larxene went over to the bench. Something caught her eye, or rather nothing caught her eye which was strange because she knew that something that should have been there was not anymore._

"_Hey, hand me back my plushie!" Larxene called out to the girls while the coach was away in her office._

"_Plushie, I have no idea what you are talking about." Tracy, with her pug nose, oinked in innocence. It seemed the best way to describe her at the time anyway, or so Larxene thought._

"_Give it back!" She asked again, her voice rose even higher than it had previously, she never usually got this angry but the person, no, creature in front of her was so repugnant that she felt she had to speak up, to stand up for herself because she knew no one else would._

"_Plushie, plushie, let's see now… oh wait, you mean this?" Tracy's arms moved from behind her back to the reveal the items in her palms. Larxene's eyes widened and her mouth trembled as she saw Mimi ripped roughly in two with an eye missing, "Here ya go!" With that Tracy threw the two pieces at Larxene's face, both hitting the paralyzed girl followed by howls of laughter from the other girls. _

"_T- That was my friend's… how co- could you-"_

"_C-c-c- oh grow up! What are you, a baby? You need mommy to change your diapers every so often when you piss the bed? I wouldn't be surprised since you depend on her for everything else." Another girl next to Tracy, Diane, spoke in a tone that felt as if several knives had stabbed the blonde antennae'd girl at once. It was sadistic and harsh, why couldn't they see that? Or maybe they could, and they just didn't care._

_But the final blow came not from those she expected but rather from Lana who had been quiet the whole time. "Maybe having that friend of yours in the hospital is a good thing. You'd probably suck of her too!" _

_Larxene pounced like a tiger would at its prey and scratched and kicked at Lana. The other girls came to the aid of their friend dragging Larxene off before- _

No, she refused to relive that memory any further. But after that, her perception on society had pretty much changed and gone downhill. Ironically enough, soon after the incident she had heard the terrible news from her friend's mother that she had finally passed away after being unable to maintain her condition. Her death had precipitated the sad state of the savage nymph, who could no longer find a positive outlook in life, from parents, teachers or anyone else in school. She instead took to the comforts of gothic fiction while maintaining her grades in order to please her parents. After her friend's death however, she could never truly see any prospects worthy of her time. She just wanted to fade away into obscurity, be invisible to others, nothing. It was a constant boring loop. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to school. Come home. Study. Go to sleep. Wake up…

Larxene arrived at the door of the house she surmised Lumaria to be in. It was a nice and fairly recent two-story apartment, a part of a development scheme by the Twilight Commissionto build new housing as the demand seemed to grow with the increase in birth rates. The area in which the apartment was situated was generally the same as the rest of the town for the most part, that was to say, cluttered and narrow, though in its defence it was hard to build around a town such as this. It was exactly why she found the town to be boring however.

She moved her hand across the list of rooms on the panel until she arrived at 4A and pressing down on the button next to it.

"Lumaria, are you there?" Larxene asked tapping her foot impatiently. No response. Either he was not there or he was hiding from her, and if it was the latter then she wouldn't hesitate in blasting down the door right now and dragging him out of the building regardless of the commotion it would cause. She rang again now yelling into the speaker. It had soon come to a point where she had started to make a song out of pressing the button a hundred times.

"Fine. Don't open it, too scared to face me because your little plan failed huh?" Larxene said sweetly before slamming her hand against the panel, "Oh who needs him? I can have just as much fun on my own. Now let me think, the beach… the beach… I'll take it." After all, the first thing one would do after becoming a somebody would be trying to experience the sensations they were unable to feel as a Nobody. Sitting under the sun with watermelon in hand was the perfect thing to do, though the only problem was that she didn't have any money. Stealing wasn't an option (though those kids she had passed before seemed oblivious enough that if it came to it they could be easily swindled) so the most feasible outcome for her was getting a job.

She didn't even know why the idea of swindling had even crossed her mind. Here was her chance to start a new life, become a different person, she had been given a second chance and yet here she was talking about swindling, of old thoughts and dreams. It had seemed right, like justice, to do something like that back in her school against the girl who she had hated so much. Tracy would have opened her desk drawer one day to find her trainers all muddied and the soles damaged or she may have opened her drawer another day to find some of the pages of her diary with the words 'HAHA' written on them. She of course, immediately turned to accusing Larxene but they had never come up with any evidence that she had done it. From the world's perspective, Larxene was a broken girl with little confidence and a teacher's pet who would never do anything bad. She played to that and she liked it.

She clutched at her chest and heard the unmistakable beating of a heart. Was it really worth it? Having one before had brought her nothing but pain and misery and from that had stemmed anger and some sadistic sense of nature. Moreover, the way she had felt before with having no heart seemed no different from now. What then, had she fought for? What had been the point of taking over the Organization only to feel the same way she had felt before? This thing known as a heart seemed to bring only sadness, she concluded as she took off to the train station

_The room was covered all in darkness but the one candle that lit up the table where the two girls sat. Remnants of the past flashed by as they closed their eyes and recalled from the bottom of their hearts and through this a new hope for the future. It was like a ritual. The holding of hands, the whispering of chant-like poetry, the giggles in between. For the two girls this seemed normal, something they would do at the end of every year. The candle lit flame revealed their innermost desires and the reflections of the remnants of the past. Their friendship, which had been bonded by invisible ties since they had both been four, and the times they had spent afterwards were clear in their minds, hopefully to never go away._

_The heart was a wonderful thing. Their friendship was the only thing keeping her sane from the pressures put on her from her parents. It didn't quite help that the girl mostly kept to herself. But she had a friend. A wonderful friend. They recited each other's names promising never to forget them no matter what would happen in the future._

_Nora. Elenar. Not comrades, never comrades. She would never use that awful word to describe her dear friend. _


	4. Ghosts

**Chapter IV**

**Ghosts**

When faced with an impossible task, one should consider all possibilities before truly giving up. Be this looking outside the box or putting one's self in another person's shoes, the sky was the limit to what could be done. But as far as Sora could see, there was no box to look out of and if there had been one in the first place it was extremely difficult to navigate. If there was a way to put himself into another person's shoes, that would also be difficult considering he was having troubles trying to find his own body. For now, he was just a phantom, wondering in the dark, a lingering sentiment without a body to touch or a tongue with which to taste. The only sense which currently pervaded his mind were those of sight and sound, for even the smell of nothingness could hardly be considered a smell at all.

Riku had himself taken the time to learn to hone his senses in these particular times, with his keen sense of smell to indicate the darkness nearby and to whom it belonged. Sora had nothing like that. Perhaps, he decided as he walked down the empty white passage ways of contemplation, he should, if given a second chance, pursue such a helpful and effective ability. As the darkness closed in ever more and the walls closed around him, perhaps the only true way to find the end of this nightmare, this box, was to develop those skills of picking up darkness. The problem being Riku had not come to develop his pinpoint accurate nose by just training it. He had at one point been one with the darkness and to sense the darkness was to understand the element itself. Unlike Riku, Sora was not willing to do that especially when it could leave him so exposed to Xehanort.

This was, of course, if he could even find his body, but nothing down these passages even suggested his shell was anywhere nearby. The patterns on the wall themselves were sharp and clearly defined showing the Nobody symbol every few inches away from one another. Was that really the case for him? Even Nobodies existed after all to think was to be and Nobodies could certainly do so. But for Sora, he did not even have a body, only this peculiar armor surrounding his spirit to keep it protected from the perversion of darkness. Take that away and what was he to a being of nothing? He wasn't even sure if his thoughts were coherent to him for they were scrambled and the empty whiteness surrounding him did nothing to better that.

But if he had to wonder here for eternity then so be it. It was better than staying in pitch black darkness and at least there was some sense of reality here. Even though he could not touch he knew these walls were opaque and cold, though just as devoid of life as he current were. Even though he could not taste he breathed in the fresh cool air and felt as it rolled off his tongue. Yes. That was reason enough to believe he existed. Now it was just a question of getting his body back and assimilating the pieces.

He turned his mind to more positive thoughts. At the end of the day, that was who he was and it was absolutely essential that he not forget that. Even if he was facing a peril which bored its claws and threatened to tear him apart, he would never stop thinking about what was truly important and no Xehanort or voice in his head could convince him otherwise.

He turned to thoughts of the islands, their exotic trees and glimmering orange and yellow reflected seas under the evening sun… oh, how he would give anything to return to his paradise. Were he not doing the mark of mastery, he would be battling with Riku on the beach or probably would be teased by Kairi. But his friends only brought up worrying and questioning thoughts. What were they doing now? Were they trying to think of a way to find and rescue him or were they too busy moving on with their lives and hardly in need of his presence? Was he just nothing but smoke, some distant memory that dispersed until whatever traces of its existence were gone?

He returned to his happy place and greatly profited from staying there, remembering memories of old and using them to convince himself that his friends would never give up on him. As long as he didn't give up on finding his own body he could also believe that his friends would not give up on finding him because they shared something precious that Xehanort could not break.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief when he had at last found a single double door in the hall of madness as he called it. Not really giving much thought as to what was behind it, he desperately pushed open the door and stepped back into The Room Where Nothing Gathers.

He could not believe it. Had he just gone around in circles? Had he not started here and continued down the corridor? He certainly had not felt himself looping around the building at all, in fact it had been very much a straightforward path until now. It was a round room, though if it was to symbolise equality amongst Nobodies it certainly didn't feel like it. In fact, in terms of hierarchal structure, it was rather paternalistic in its approach. He gathered this from the thirteen seats around the room, all raised on different levels of position to no doubt assert who was the dominant one. The person sitting on the tallest chair inhabiting the room would also be in effect undermining the others as he looked down upon them. If Xehanort was willing to start a Keyblade War to make everyone just like him, he had a funny way of showing it because it seemed that he wasn't even fair with himself.

But other than that, the room was empty, or at least on initial appearance. Sora located the chair in which his body was sat upon. He had not be conscious to be there himself but he could just feel it, as he took his place and observed the room, that something of his had once been on this very seat. But now where his body should be, was instead a moving piece of armor very much aware and susceptible to the world around it. The chair, he found, was surprisingly comfortable for something that looked the very opposite. He even amused himself by trying out different poses for a while.

That was when he saw it. By the door and outside in the passage, very briefly but noticeably, he saw the shadow of a human. It was quick, almost like a blur and seemed in a hurry but it definitely was humanoid in its characteristics. Little did it cross his mind that the figure may be one of danger. All he knew was that he had to follow it. He pushed any hesitation to the back of his mind, jumped off of the low chair and left the room taking a right down the hallway.

He admitted it was an otherworldly experience. Here he was, chasing this figure and whilst he wanted so desperately to call out for it to stop in its tracks, he could not do so for he had no voice for which to speak with. And yet, this lack of voice had seemed to heighten some other sense in him. He could feel a vibration reverberating against the back of his eardrum and hitting against the walls of the area. He was sure it belonged to the other's presence he was chasing it. It was why he knew exactly where to go as the passage split into to two. He took the left without a moment's agitation and continued his sprint for the finish line to catch this voice the vibration belonged to. The only problem was, he was sure that no one was speaking and he was sure that he had not lost any sense of hearing either because he could hear his own loud footsteps underneath him as he ran.

Finally he had nowhere left to run. He had stumbled into a large room with an amazing view of the world itself from the large picture window at the back of the room extending from one side of the wall to the other. He walked over to the window and looked outside to gain some perspective on where he was. He definitely seemed to still reside in the castle judging by the long distance he was from the city. Buildings erected in tall structure stared back at them but he hardly knew the purpose of these buildings. Was he even in the real world anyway or was he still in the realm of sleep? There had hardly been any difference between the two he had found which scared him even more that no matter what he did, he would be forever trapped in eternal slumber. But there was a chance, which was, if Riku made it out then it was likely that he could also make it out.

The loud sound of a door closing came from behind him and he spun away in time to jump out of the way of what appeared to be fast-approaching black smoke. It smashed through the windows allowing the cold air to fill the room before returning once again aiming straight at Sora. He made an attempt to jump out of the way once again but this time the dark smoke grabbed onto his leg and swung him. Pain associated itself quickly with his spine as his back hit against the wall, an unnatural feeling forming considering he had no body with which to feel yet still somehow still felt the stimuli and the reactions coupled with it.

"Well if it isn't my other self. I can't imagine it's wonderful for you having to see me in your body but if it helps calm you down I am taking great care of it." The boy in question who spoke shared similarities with Sora's body all except for the golden piercing iris' and two pointy ears.

_It doesn't, not when you're using my body like this. _Sora pressed his hand against the wall and used it as support to help himself up. He slowly extended his hand resulting in a flash of silver and the appearance of the Kingdom Key, his Kingdom Key for whatever Keyblade his dark self was holding was not his own. Though its shape would appear similar the coloration was marginally off having a much darker hue on its blade and handle.

"Can't talk? No matter, your opinion isn't worth much anyway. That's why you can't leave this hallway. Did you find it odd how it looped until you saw me? It's because it caters most to those who are nothing, ironically enough trapping them in an endless cycle. Most Nobodies have to use corridors of darkness to exit the room or otherwise face being lost. But you can't bring yourself to use the darkness can you? Because you're weak!" Xehanort-Sora spat in disgust, "Your body belongs to Xehanort and soon… very soon… this world and the others like it will become one under him. Can you imagine that, one ideology, no differences in the way we think, no conflicts. Don't you get it? We're going to start a war that will end all wars. Any future conflict will cease to exist and the perfect equilibrium will be created between light and darkness. Isn't that what you want?"

Sora ignored his other and charged in to attack. Metal clashed against metal as the two wielders exchanged attacks while jumping around and building speed to take the other out. Neither would relent for the Lingering Will of Sora battled to take back what was rightfully his while the shadow was very much resilient and unwilling to let this new body go back to its original owner.

The blades hit against one another once again with Xehanort-Sora's Kingdom Key on top threatening to cut through Sora's defense and with it his armor. He wasn't even sure where the armor had come from but he knew that if he stopped to ponder it then and there it would be over for him. He held his guard with both his hands pushing upwards to keep his body's blade away from him.

"Don't you see yet? I am you, the darkness in your heart incarnate and the one you could only wish to be. Friends? Heh, who needs 'em? What have they done for you? Where are they now? These aren't simply questions you can ignore, because the truth is you know exactly where they are. Just search your heart and you'll find the answer," With a smile, Xehanort-Sora relaxed his strength and jumped back, "It's so much easier to let go. Then you'll see everything for what it was and what it's truly meant to be. When you're alone, there's no one to betray you… and you aren't putting anyone in harm's way by being their friend."

_You know what, at this point… I don't even care whether my friends betrayed me. I just want you out of my body Xehanort. _Sora rushed forward and slammed in his Keyblade into his body sending it hurtling backwards. Catching up to him, he used Faith magic, creating beams of light extending past his armor aiming for and successfully attacking Xehanort-Sora.

Sora had only a few ideas as to how to retrieve his body from Xehanort's clutches. He feared the slightest strike, the slightest means of aggression would harm his shell. If it came to the last resort, his darkness could very easily take his shell out with him and then the entire thing would be pointless. But whatever other choice did he have? Any form of communication was out of the question, not just because he could not speak but also it was unlikely that the slightly tanned Sora staring back at him would accommodate if he asked nicely.

It came to him almost like a spark, a burst of inspiration. This epiphany had not been his own, or at least it could not have possibly been his own for it had been completely random and unrelated to the situation at hand. In his mind he had seen his younger self holding up the Kingdom Key to seal the Keyhole in Agrabah. Was his mind trying to somehow relate it to a similar moment? If so then it was possible that he had finally found his solution to the puzzle.

He aimed his Keyblade at his body similarly to how he had done so in his vision. "What? Stop, you don't know what you're doing!" Xehanort-Sora hissed but it was too late. The beam trapped them both in a paralyzed state. The conscious armor could only hold onto the Keyblade as it vibrated violently while his other's eyes fell into a cloudy state. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded in darkness and falling.

Oh, how many times he had visited this place. Its warmth gave a protecting contrast to the darkness surrounding it. He knew very much without having to look at the magnificent stained glass platform below him that he was home. He blinked once. Twice. As many times as he realised that he could feel his own skin, that he could curl and grind his tongue against his teeth and that he could make out his own nose just underneath his eyes. He grabbed at his hair and pinched himself with enthusiasm almost as if he were a child going to school on his first day. He was back—but then again, his other was there along with him.

"I have my body so why are you still here?" Sora questioned. Even after hearing his voice, he quickly treasured it moving his hand over his larynx and rubbing the skin sheltering it.

"I guess this battle between who gets control over your body. This is a waiting place, one of judgement where people are tested for what they truly are. In the end you either rise into the light, or you fall into the deepest depths of darkness. You may be my other," Dark Sora shook his head unimpressed before summoning his Keyblade, "But that does not mean I have to respect you."

"If you're my darkness then I want you back in my body. I guess it explains while I feel lighter but it doesn't mean I should just be thankful that I have no darkness in my heart. I'm taking back _my_ body, so it doesn't matter whether you respect me or not." Sora gritted his teeth and ran forward with the Kingdom Key in hand. Dark Sora's body melted into the floor as it swept under Sora's feet and popped up from the other side of the platform, its body had transformed to form a fluid liquid black ink which flew towards Sora. Sora raised his Keyblade in a defensive position just in time to guard the Dark Sora's Keyblade. As he pushed back, the Keyblade wielder could feel his own weapon melting and becoming one with his other's weapon.

Once again in his liquid form, the phantom circled Sora in motions which reminded him of soft silk floating gently in the breeze. Such was its mesmerising status that Sora was almost distracted as it came rushing towards him once again. He rolled out of the way several times as the ghostly apparition flew back and forth in an effort to attack him. Sora's body grew a brilliant bright light as he jumped and clashed with his dark half in the air. Their Keyblades battled for dominance as the blades spun and knocked against each other creating spits and hisses as light clashed against darkness.

As he looked into the eyes of his counterpart he wondered how someone could have such uncaring and cold eyes. These golden eyes staring back at him were soulless and lacked much emotion from them. He would never let this man, who had ruined so many lives, some who he didn't even know but supposedly were connected to him, to take over his body or get what he wanted.

Mustering up all his strength he pushed back fiercely with determination. For the next few seconds, it was as if time had passed slowly for Sora but quickly for his other. Sora sliced through the blade of his opponent cutting it into two before he continued to mercilessly beat on him using his Trinity Limit. Slash after slash cut through and eventually he finished off with a burst of light pulling Dark Sora in like a magnet and watched as the Keyblade did the rest of the work. The beam which had attached itself to Dark Sora eventually expanded and a light filled the station.

Sora opened his eyes. Here he was once again in the room before he had been paralyzed by his attack. The remnants of the shattered window remained but Xehanort-Sora was nowhere to be seen. The increase of something familiar in his heart seemed to confirm it to him. He had managed to subdue his own darkness while Xehanort's had disappeared. Moving his hands to his ears were also all he needed to know that his body had returned to its original state.

_I suppose you feel that you are happy now that you have retained your body in its original physical state?_

Sora jumped startled and looked around, "Wait a minute? You aren't Xehanort… you're that other voice I've been hearing. You've been unusually quiet now that I think about it. Get a good night's sleep while I've been gone?"

_I do not care much for your jokes. Only that I've come to tell you what you think is normal isn't simply so. That darkness still very much resides in your heart willing to battle you when the time comes._

Sora frowned with indignation, "And why exactly should I believe you now? I don't feel any different. But I understand, people like you only really want something for others when it benefits for you. So cough it up and explain who you are and why you are inside my head."

There was a protracted period of silence in the air and for the longest time Sora was afraid that he had scared the voice away, not that it would have mattered to him. Right now he wanted to concentrate on getting out of this world and finding his friends.

Then the voice said, _I'll show you who I am, that is— if you're interested in finding me. _A dark corridor opened up, its appearance ostensibly threatening Sora's confidence. He very much wanted to find out who was behind this if only to put an end to the voice inside his head. A part of him considered leaving it alone in hopes that it would go away but once again the other side of his conscience told him that hope alone would not stop the evasive presence. If he wanted to end it he would have to meet face to face with the underlying problem and worst come to worst, he was sure he could handle anything thrown at him.

Remembering everything he had learnt from first stepping into the sleeping worlds, he breathed in and out deeply before stepping into the darkness.

* * *

**So this is essentially where Sora starts to become his new alter ego. How that will affect the relationship with his friends? It's an interesting concept to play and experiment with I imagine because he won't know at first that he's becoming this Ghost Rider but he'll learn to master it eventually. From who? You'll have to wait and see. **

**So I went to see Thor: The Dark World and Gravity, not on the same day, but both movies are certainly up there as my favorite movies of the year. Loki steals the show but the overall cast is still very good. A major disappointment this year in superhero movies was Man of Steel for me. It's kind of a prime example of disjointed narrative with it throwing in flashback after flashback which breaks up the pace of the movie. I will say however that it hold some of the best comic book action in any superhero movie I've seen to date and its definitely worth trying to incorporate that similar style into action scenes for this and DD. **

**In general I think this is the story I'm going to be most experimenting with ideas that I've gotten from other novels or movies. It does give me more room to breathe with by going for a more comic book style approach since I get to read a lot of comics for research. So until next time, catch you all later and please R&R. **


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